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Of course what does this have to do with perl - well we just had YAPC::Israel, unlike YAPC::Europe or any conference in the normal world, this would not welcome anybody from neighbouring countrys - arabs or palestinians who managed to make it through Isreals borders, checkpoints and snipers wouldn't be welcome.

And exactly how was the YAPC::Israel organizing team supposed to supercede Israel's immigration policies?

Waitasecond. Last I checked, peace treaties were in place between Israel, Jordan and Eg

(1) YAPC::Israel took money and registration information from anyone who expressed interest. I find it very difficult to believe that anyone was turned away because of citizenship.

(2) A regular participant in the Israeli Perl mailing list is Lebanese. So far as I can tell, he has been treated with only the greatest of respect and kindness. You can be sure that there are racists and bigots in Israel, and I'm sure that some of them are Perl programmers. But to paint all of us with a broad brush is rather unfair.

(3) Many of the talks at YAPC::Israel were indeed in English. In at least one case, an Israeli tried to present in English, and the audience asked him to speak in Hebrew so that everyone could understand. But you can be sure that everyone enjoyed MJD's talks, and they were in English.

(4) A large majority of Israelis have consistently indicated a willingness to compromise with the Palestinians. Many of us (including myself) are strongly opposed to the current government's policies, and write letters to our elected representatives to express our views.

(5) But even the most liberal among us are scared our of our wits by the constant thread of suicide bombers at cafes, hotels, and public buses -- and by the games that the Palestinian Authority has been playing, simultaneously denouncing and encouraging terrorists.

Palestinians are indeed treated miserably, by us and by their own corrupt and dictatorial leaders. But blowing up buses of schoolchildren, or people planning to go shopping at the mall -- and then broadcasting PA-sponsored TV programs praising such acts -- is disgusting and reprehensible. I'm personally in favor of a Palestinian state with a secure border between it and Israel, and with strong trade links between the two states. But those trade links depend on having a relationship that doesn't include suicide bombings as a nationally sanctioned, popular option.

(6) Finally, there was a candidate for prime minister in our most recent elections (Amram Mitzna) who suggested that we leave most of the territories unilaterally if we cannot reach a negotiated settlement within a year. (I actually voted for the party to his left, if you must know.) Not only did he lose, but he has now resigned his position as head of the Labor Party. You can blame him, or his policies, or the public mood, or the backstabbing politics in Labor, or many other things. But he presented his opinions, asked the public to decide, and lost. Claiming thta everyone in Israel simply wants to hold onto the territories ignores the significant philosophical and political differences of opinion that even the most casual visitor to Israel experiences.

I'm not opposed to criticism of Israeli policies. But I am opposed to blanket statements that ignore the interplay between the two sides over 50-100 years (beginning long before the 1967 Six-Day War). And there is no justification whatsoever for the terrorist attacks that have left innocent civilians murdered.

Each time I hear about the situation there I lose hope that anybody in my community (open source or perl) gives a fuck about the victims (predominantly palestinian, especially if you consider homelessness, etc).

Its good to hear that mongers in Israel are leading by example - I don't see any of this in the Tech, Open Source or Perl media and that makes it fraustrating. It seems as though my community is one that stands by as this happens.